The science of the nutrition of farm animals has reached a highly advanced state as efforts continue to attempt to reach the full genetic potential for production and growth within domestic species. Research effort in terms of nutrition is generally divided between the special problems associated with ruminant animals and those encountered in monogastric animals. A wide variety of products have been utilized as a feed supplements in an attempt to increase production performance in monogastric animals. Various studies in the prior art have shown that the addition of fats and oils to the feed of monogastric animals may positively affect their performance, although the results have been variable.
In a series of trials conducted at the Animal Science Department, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Virginia Polytechnique Institute and State University, it was found that the addition of soyabean oil to a pig's diet tended to reduce daily food intake and improve feed efficiency.
Similarly, at Texas Technical University, lysine was added at 0.05 and 0.01% to diets based on sorghum and soyabean oilmeal with 4 and 8% fat added to maintain a digestible energy : lysine ratio similar to the basal diet. In pigs weighing 28.5 to 59 kg, there was no difference among groups in rate of gain, feed intake or feed for unit gain. From 59 to 101 kg and overall, pigs given added fat ate less and required less feed for unit gain than those given the basal diet. Pigs given 8% added fat ate less and required less feed for unit gain than those given 4%.
N. J. Lawrence, et al., in an article in the Journal of Animal Science (1983), described tests with various fat products utilized as feed supplements. At Oklahoma State University, the effect of a dietary fat source was studied in these tests. Pigs were fed on diets containing butter fat, maize oil, coconut oil or lard on a DM basis. It was found that gain and efficiency of feed use were greater for pigs fed on coconut oil than for pigs fed on maize or lard. In a second trial, choice white grease was added to a starter diet at 0, 4, 8 and 12%. Levels of maize and soyabean oilmeal were altered to maintain a constant ratio of other nutrients to digestible energy. It was found that feed intake decreased as fat level increased. Gains the first two weeks also decreased linearly with fat level. Efficiency of feed use was not significantly affected by dietary fat level, but efficiency of use of calculated digestible energy decreased with added fat.
Thus, as can be seen, fat products are known in the prior art to cause a decrease in feed intake while causing a corresponding increase in efficiency. The decrease in feed intake associated with the use of dietary fat in the animals's feed occurs because animals eat to caloric satiety. Caloric satiety is defined as that level of energy intake that produces a cessation of appetite. Fats and oils contain more than twice the level of energy provided in other nutrients per unit of weight. The substitution, or addition, of fat to other feed stuffs increases the caloric value of the blended feed per unit of weight. This reduces the amount of ingested feed necessary to reach caloric satiety. Efficiency in diets supplemented with fats is increased because performance, as determined by parameters deemed appropriate to the class of the livestock being fed, is not reduced in proportion to the normal decrease in feed intake.
One of the problems with the utilization of fat products as feed supplements is the difficulty encountered in handling the supplement. Fat supplements currently available to the feed industry may be classified as one of four general types: (1) Fats of animal origin -- these are solid at temperatures less than 102-104.degree. F.; (2) Fats of vegetable origin -- these are liquid at all normal working temperatures; (3) Blends of animal and vegetable fats -- the handling characteristics of this type are reflected by the percentage of animal fat used; and (4) Dry fats -- usually of animal origin. Because of the use of fats of animal origin in types 1 and 3, it is necessary to heat the supplements in order to blend the supplement with dry feeds. No heating is necessary for types 2 and 4. However, dry fats (type 4) will to liquify at temperatures about 90.degree. F. Thus, these temperatures will cause the dry fats blended with the dry feeds to clump and make the finished feed product difficult to handle. Thus, all of the above-mentioned types of feed supplements, except fats of vegetable origin, will require the consumer to utilize specialized equipment in order to use them at the site of the feed lot.
Flavorings have also been the subject of prior art studies, to determine if the same will increase the feed intake or otherwise positively impact animal performance. In a study conducted at Virginia Polytechnique Institute and State University, and described in an article by E. T. Kornegay, et al., entitled "Evaluation of Rearing Systems and Feed Flavors for Pigs Weaned at Two to Three Weeks of Age", in the Journal of Animal Science, Volume 48, No. 5 (1979), seven trials were conducted in which several feed flavors were evaluated. The overall conclusion from these studies were that the addition of feed flavors to the basal diet did not improve daily food intake, conversion or daily gain for pigs weaned at the various ages.
Such studies have been conducted based on the suggestion that various dietary sweeteners, aromatic compounds and certain natural ingredient additives will attract pigs to their diet and increase intake, thereby improving performance. The studies (cited in the Kornegay et al. article) suggest that, when offered a choice, young pigs generally exhibit a preference for starter diets containing sugar, saccarin or whey. However, when no choice is offered, there is little or no difference in diet consumption or performance.
The results of the Kornegay et al. studies confirmed the results of previous studies: that average daily gain, feed intake and feed per unit gain for the first week and the overall period were not significantly different in any trial for pigs fed the basal diet compared to diets containing the various feed flavors. Thus, where a preference choice is not available, there is no difference in diet consumption or performance between pigs fed sweetened or flavored and nonsweetened or nonflavored diets.
While flavorings are known and utilized in the prior art, their application to feed has been ineffective. Flavorings are typically produced in either dry powder form or water-soluble form. Because of the low inclusion rate used when blending dry flavors into dry feeds, it is nearly impossible to arrive at a uniform distribution of flavor in the finished product. Dry flavors are often volatile and lose potency when exposed to the heat commonly associated with the manufacture of feeds and/or their storage during summer months. Water soluble flavoring were only minimally more effective, since dry feeds absorb water primarily at the point of application, thereby making uniform distribution difficult to achieve. While a uniform mixture of water soluble flavors was possible by utilizing special equipment having low volume, high pressure density characteristics, such equipment would be economically unfeasible for the individual consumer.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved feed supplement for monogastric animals.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a feed supplement which may be uniformly mixed with feed by the consumer at the feedlot.
Yet another object is to provide a feed supplement in liquid form to simplify handling.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid feed supplement in a form which is easily and uniformly mixed with a dry feed, thereby avoiding the sporadic concentrations found in the prior art when dry and water-soluble flavorings were added to dry feeds.
Another object is to provide a feed supplement which will reduce airborne dust during and after mixing.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a fat product nutritionally superior to prior art products and easier to handle by the individual consumer.
Yet a further object is to provide a feed supplement which will inhibit mold growth.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid feed supplement which will overcome caloric satiety in the animal.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid feed supplement which will increase production performance in monogastric animals.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.